Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright
by TigerTiger
Summary: Tiger Tiger Burning Bright stars our fav VD bad-boy and a huntress. I'm known for many twists and turns, not to mention surprise endings, so keep a map handy! I update almost daily so keep checking back and remember r/r :) * FINISHED*


Disclaimer: I do not own the characters L.J. Smith has created, nor do I know her personally, but I do own my character-Piper.   
  
  
Ch. 1   
  
"Hey Meredith!" Piper greeted her best friend of seven years.  
  
"Everyone's here. Now the party starts." Bonnie said and as if on cue, Sum 41's heavy bassed "Fat Lip" starting flowing out of nearby speakers.   
  
Piper had organized a "Welcome Home" party for Meredith from Penn. State University. She was on fall break. She'd invited all of Meredith's friends over including Bonnie, Matt, and Stefan. Stefan- even the name sent shivers up Piper's spine. There was definitely something odd about him for his eyes were always so dark and had hair the color of a raven's wing. Not to mention all of his cat-like movements. He just seemed inhuman. Nonetheless, he was, after all, Meredith's friend and could be trusted. Still, Piper had her doubts.   
  
" So how is college going?" Stefan asked Meredith as he gulfed down some chips.  
  
" Pass that over here!" Piper cried out and Stefan threw the bag to here. Yes, this guy can be trusted, Piper thought to herself.   
  
The conversation came to a halt when "Candy" poured out of the sound system. Everyone got up and started dancing around the room. Everyone except Stefan. He seemed to be in his own world, looking at the door seemingly seeing someone who wasn't even there. His brow furrowed in thought.   
  
This went undetected by the people dancing to the heavy beats. Piper and Meredith were dancing together as were Matt and Bonnie. Meredith was passing a brush to Piper, Matt, and Bonnie all four of which were belting out their heart once they received the "mic". Suddenly, the doorbell rang which was almost inaudible over the loud sounds from the radio.   
In almost the same second as the doorbell rang, Stefan stood up and whispered a single word, "Damon."   
  
  
  
Chap. 2  
  
Suddenly, the music stopped- everything stopped. It seemed as if Damon literally slid through the door.  
  
Glares were given as he stood in the doorway from Meredith, Bonnie and even Stefan. Matt stared absent-mindedly at the figure that simply frayed his nerves. 'Boo!' came the single thought that ringed in Matt's mind and made him jump.   
  
Puzzlement and confusion showed on Piper's face. Those eyes, she'd seen them before. She pondered to herself, but felt a certain invasion trying to push inside her mind. Piper's eyes unconsciously traced the contours of his body.  
  
" Hello Damon." came the strained voice of Stefan. Stress was building inside him.   
  
" Can't a brother come and visit his only family?" Damon sarcastically asked. He flashed a dangerous smile as he realized they had an audience. ' I always seem to do that' the egotistical part of him said. Stefan could only watch as Damon's eyes went from him to Piper. Stefan cursed his brother mentally.   
  
Damon saw a new face among the crowd. She had long wavy hair the color of deep Switzerland chocolate and eyes that matched. Mush shorter than himself, she carried a certain aura about herself. Damon, though very intelligent when it came to the female species, couldn't quite place it.   
  
"What do you want?" the question went unheard by Damon as he sauntered over to the mystery girl. He searched her mind for a name.   
  
" How rude not to introduce your friend, brother..", Damon said aloud, " Piper, is it? " He smiled a most charming smile and knelt to kiss the girl's hand.   
  
" Watch out-he bites!" Bonnie said before Damon shot her a deathly look. Piper's eyebrows furrowed.   
  
" How did you know my name?" Piper breathed, not even sure she actually said anything, but she felt a peace in her mind. She was barely able to think for her head was spinning and she felt faint. ' What is it with guys around here?' she thought to herself.   
  
Piper could only hear parts of the conversation that was going on between the brothers. Something about that guy Damon just passing by and how he'd be here for a few days.   
  
  
Ch. 3   
  
'Damon-Stefan' Piper thought to herself as she pushed up her reading glasses. Having been staring at the boring computer screen for the last hour and a half, it was still a mystery as to who these brothers were.   
  
She'd searched literally 100's a websites for the pair, but got no feedback. After giving into the temptation of the warm, feather-soft pillows that were clustered on her bed, she decided to check her mail one last time. "You've got mail!" sang the voice on her computer. She glanced quickly over the subjects. One something about reality, another offering ways to increase your cup size in 2 weeks, one entitled The Salvatore Brothers. Her eyes darted back to her last email.   
  
Piper opened up the email up and scanned the information on the pair of brothers that she would soon be staking. Piper was a huntress, a vampire huntress. It was a normal day-at 7 years old, Piper was playing with a few letter-blocks, spelling out the word "RED". She heard noises from the kitchen it seemed, things being knocked around and what not. Not paying any attention, she kept herself occupied with her letter blocks. What the young girl didn't know was that her parents were being ripped open by a gang of rouge, blood-thirsty vampires. Two days later, her Aunt called and when no one picked up the phone, she carefully pushed the receiver and said a timid "Hello?" Immediately, her Aunt knew things were not right and had it arranged that she would come live with her. Thinking about this, piper tried to shoo the terrible thoughts away.   
  
When she was 16, Piper did some research about her parent's tragic death. The newspapers claimed them to a fatal car accident, but when she found out otherwise, she made a vow that she, herself, would stake every last vampire. Now, every two weeks she received records as to new vampires that were in town.   
  
Now, at age 22, she had moved place to place, hunting down certain vampires. ' One by one, each will die' she told herself. A fierce huntress ,she never missed a target and 'I'm not going to miss this one.'   
  
At the present time, her mission was to hunt down and kill the Salvatore brothers. As she saw a recent photo of the two, her veins turned to ice, and her heart skipped several beats- Stefan and Damon Salvatore.  
  
Thoughts raced through Piper's mind- images of blood pouring from her veins, wooden stakes being thrown… "Vampire" was the only word that reeked havoc all over her body. She began to fill a bit dizzy and finally decided it was high time she had a drink....something strong, something really strong. Piper not only needed something hard and fast, but also needed to think.   
  
Piper grabbed a light jacket and headed out the door.   
  
  
Ch. 4  
  
Piper sat at the bar and downed drink after drink after drink-vodka mostly, even though it severely stung as it slithered down her throat. The monstrous sounds combined with the smell of alcohol weakened her senses and made everything seem to blur all together. ' At least the alcohol did its job.' she hastily thought.   
  
When she stepped out of the bar, the chill of the night air struck her face. Piper tugged on her jacket a little tighter, feeling the sharp edge of her stake in her side.   
  
The frogs were peacefully calling as she began making her way home. Piper suddenly felt her world turn upside down. The concrete of the sidewalk had scraped her forehead. She'd been knocked over. "W-What?" she faintly asked to no one in particular as she felt some metallic object slammed into her ribs and several pairs of feet kicking at her. It was like she was in a dream ,watching herself being beaten to death and yet not feeling anything. Grunting and groaning, the conscious side of her soon realized that she was being attacked.   
  
With her senses impaired from overdosing on alcohol, she couldn't see her attackers.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Damon had been at the bar when he saw a familiar face- Piper. She seemed troubled and almost decided to go and see what was up. Normally, he would've simply racked her mind for the information, but her stress and discomfort were acting like a barrier to him. So, he simply watched her down drink after drink.   
  
After many bottles had been emptied, she'd left. He pondered for a moment as to weather he should follow. Damon decided to. ' After all, maybe an easy meal..'  
  
She was way ahead of him, but he could smell her at nearly two miles away. ' Vanilla and a sprinkle of apricot, interesting..' he thought.  
  
With his expert night vision, he saw up ahead a young woman on the concrete sidewalk and four vampires surrounding her. He smelled blood and could hardly control his canines from erecting. He could almost feel her being beaten to death. That's when he realized that the young woman had been Piper. Damon rushed toward her, against his own instincts. He began to influence the four younger, inexperienced vampires to walk away and forget what had happened. When he arrived at the scene, he noted that Piper was breathing and therefore alive, but that her situation could change very quickly. Blood trickled down the sides of her face, and a large wound was spread across her forehead. Damon grabbed part of his shirt and wiped some of the nearly dried blood off of the woman as he picked her up and began to carry her home.   
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
' Damon, we need to talk. ' His brother's voice echoed in his mind. " Gee, this should be fun." Damon thought aloud, then he vanished from the dark alley in which he walked and reappeared inside Stefan's kitchen.   
  
"Oh, brother dear, I was about to feed. Some young girl walking down the dark alley, I was gonna give her the time of her life, if ya know what I mean…" he stated, casually licking his lips.   
  
Stefan ignored the comment, "Damon, we need to talk. Sit down please." the brothers took a seat on the plush leather couch.  
  
"Oh, this must be serious…" Damon unenthusiastically sighed and rolled his eyes. " It is. " Stefan retorted. Damon smiled in a dangerous way. "What, did you finally decide to stop feeding off of defenseless little animals and start tapping the sweet veins of a challenge -"   
  
" You mean a human, possibly one you care about?" Stefan interrupted. The tension between the two was simply unbearable. His brother went completely still, "What do you mean?"   
  
Stefan said one word, but that was all it took, " Piper…"   
  
"What about her? Are you saying that I care about a mortal, human girl?" Damon went off shouting and then simply laughed.   
  
" Oh, so if you don't care about her then why did you save her last night, huh? " Stefan asked. Damon shook his head, thought to himself a moment, and then decided to get out of there and preceded toward the door.   
  
  
  
  
" Damon Wait!" Stefan protested. " Piper- she's a huntress. It's true, she's supposed to stake us...listen to me brother, please.."   
  
Damon whipped around on his heel and his face was contorted. ' How could she a huntress? His Piper… assigned to kill him- she's not even mine', his brain reminded him. He could barley breath. "What?" he feathered.   
  
"You heard me.." Stefan replied looking down and then looked up only to see a pair of fathomless eyes that matched his almost perfectly. " How do you know?" Damon squinted his eyes simply because he just knew that Piper couldn't, just couldn't be a vampire huntress.   
  
" Look, I can't help it that you were too enthralled by her to see past the image of innocence. I read her mind Damon. " Once again, Damon was to the point of boiling and bolted out of the door, slamming it behind him.   
  
He walked down the sidewalk toward an unknown destiny. He heard the voice of Stefan echo through his mind, ' It's true..'. " Get outta my head.." Damon screamed to it.   
  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
" Hmmm.." Piper moaned as she awoke and rubbed her head. 'Where am I?' she asked but soon recognized the setting. She was simply in her own room, in her own bed safe and sound. ' How did I get here?' That's when the memories of the previous night's events flooded back into her mind. The feel of the concrete under her body, cutting and scraping her. The men harassing her and then her rescuer. A sense of safeness waved over her entire body and for a moment in time she felt as if her world was perfect.   
  
' Whoa girl, what are you doing?' Piper snapped out of her trance. She threw the covers off of her and to the side of the bed. She stood up and realized that she was still in her clothes from last night. Still a little weak, her legs weren't cooperating with her very well. She happened to glance at her answering machine and noticed the read light blinking. Piper walked over to it and clicked the button.   
  
" You have one new message." the mechanical voice stated. Piper was changing clothes while it played. "Piper- it's Josh-my team and I were assigned to help you with the killings- call me as soon as you get this. "   
  
' No, this is my job.' Piper thought to herself. She felt her eyes begin to water and sting, ' why can't they just trust me? Why wont they let me do this on my own?'   
  
Piper looked over atop her dresser only to find that her stake was missing. . "No, wait, it was in coat." she concluded and dug through clothes that lay on her floor. She couldn't find it. " Great, just great" . ' Maybe it fell out of my jacket during the fighting...' and decided to go to the scene and check it out. Hopefully, this time she would be alone.   
  
  
Ch. 6  
  
Piper walked the two and a half blocks to the scene of her injury. It was dusk. ' Only a little day light then.' she thought to herself. At first, she scanned the area briefly with her eyes, then noticed the blood on the concrete, her blood. Getting down on all fours, she did a more thorough search around this area.   
  
She'd been here for a mere hour when she finally saw the flash of the handle on her dagger shining by the moonlight. As soon as she picked it up, she got an odd feeling. ' Boy, am I ever glad to see you..' she told it, knowing that it was just an object. ' An object that's saved her life on more than one occasion.' she told herself. Then, she remembered Josh's call. ' Bastards..' she cursed him and his team mentally.   
  
" I guess I should call him at least. Maybe it'll be less work for me having more than just one person fighting two very good fighting vampires."   
She stared walking back home now, listening intently to the sounds of the night- the crickets and frogs playing heir song. ' Such beautiful music..' she concluded. Piper wished so badly that she could be part of the night- it was so mysterious, so unforgiving, so wild and untamed. Just like Damon…  
  
Her thoughts lingered on Damon. She knew he was several hundred years old and yet looked 21. ' That's because he's immortal, duh!' she told herself.   
  
"Ya know, beautiful women like you should know better than to be walking out here at night. You never know who you may encounter or what may happen.." Damon whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. A sharp intake of breath rewarded him. Piper leaned into his strong chest, " Thank you for saving me last night " she breathed.  
  
" My brother said that the reason I saved you last night was because I cared about you, only you are a human.." Piper didn't know what to say. She was partly confused, but mostly realized that he shared the same feeling that she had for him. Overjoyed, that's what she felt. ' Having sex with a vampire..ooo.. The possibilities…' she thought and smirked. Only, Damon was reading her thoughts as if they were a book.   
  
Suddenly, his grip tightened on her slim waist, keeping a hand on her dagger through her coat. His breath was in her ear, " Only, I don't fall for human mortals...they're for feeding and I'm very, very hungry, for I haven't eaten in three days…"   
  
Damon kissed her ear lobe and could smell her blood flowing just below the surface of her flawless skin. Piper began to fight him, elbowing and trying to retrieve her stake, but his hand was covering it. " Help, someone help!" she screamed. ' Why scream? No one is out here, but me and you..' he said to her mind.  
  
Damon's fangs extended their full length and sank into her throat. Piper had never been the victim of vampire. She screamed because the pain was worse than anything she'd ever experienced. It felt as if several thousand daggers were being thrown into her all at once. Waves of pain stabbed her insides. Damon's mouth felt like fire on her. She began kicking and screaming again, but this only made it hurt all the more. As if it could get any worse, Damon decided to make the pain much worse by moving his fangs up and down inside of her.   
  
Meanwhile, he was experiencing the trance that every vampire goes through while feeding. Her blood tasted coppery and metallic with a hint of bitter sweetness. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain between his legs. She'd managed to free a leg from his grasp and kicked him. ' That bitch!' he thought and tore his fangs from her neck, leaving it bleeding freely.   
  
Piper didn't care that she could be bleeding to death, she just wanted to get out of there and get away from Damon. Once she was out of his grip, she began running. Consciously, she knew that if he desired so, he could easily out run her, but for her sanity, she ran. Ran to escape her fears and within a lapse of nearly one minute and thirty seconds, she had made it to the safe condolences of her home.   
  
She opened her door, then slammed it behind her, locking it. Tears poured down her cheeks as she slid down the door. She felt dizzy and disoriented. Felling blood trickle down her neck, she went to get up and go get a wet rag towel. She wiped her neck off and then applied pressure to stop the bleeding. Before covering it with a gauze, she noticed twin puncture marks.  
  
  
Ch. 7  
  
That night, Damon went to see Stefan.   
  
" She's taken care of." Damon announced coolly as he fiddled with his coat buttons. Stefan didn't even need to ask, he simply searched his brother's mind, nodding his head in disappointment. " It's simply proof that I, Damon Salvatore, would never would never care about a human being.."   
  
Still, Stefan was silent and unmoving. " Look, I'm going out. Don't follow. G'bye brother..." Stefan sighed heavily. Although he was older, Stefan was the more sensitive of the two. This is why he didn't feed off of humans. Sensitivity was like a plague, he concluded. The more Stefan thought about his brother's actions, the more he felt sorry for Piper.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Piper awoke the next morning and checked her sores. ' Almost healed up..' she thought. She crawled into her love seat and turned on Saturday morning cartoons.   
  
" How can everybody be so damn happy?" she ignorantly thought aloud. Her cat, whom was looking intently at her, could only meow in response. He crawled in her lap and began purring loudly. Little tear drops began to trickle down he face, streaking it like small rivers. " How could Damon do that? I thought he cared about me….Now, he must die." Ever so softly, her dream world came to her aid.   
  
After what seemed a mere five seconds, but in reality was almost fie ours, Piper was jolted awake by her ringing phone.   
  
" Hmmhello?" she answered groggily.   
  
" Piper, it's Josh.." he sounded dead serious.  
  
" Morning.." she answered yawning and finally mustering up the strength to get up out of her comfortable position.   
  
" When do you want to kill the vamps?" Josh asked in a more annoyed tone than anything else.  
  
" Oh, umm Josh- I've got news on the one named Stefan. He's not a threat to us, in fact I read that he only feeds on animals. " Piper informed him.  
  
" I dunno, maybe target practice? Come on, even you , yourself, said that all vampires deserved to die.."   
  
" Look, what's the point in wasting time killing him, when it's his brother that we should be concentrating on?" Josh seemed not to waver any….  
  
" That's true, Damon is a killer-"  
  
" He attacked me last night, Josh."   
  
" Then we need to act soon before he tried more than to simply hurt you."   
  
" So, we leave Stefan alone, since there's no point in killing him?" She asked.   
  
  
" Naw, he's off the line, but still needs to be watched." he finally gave in, " So how about Monday?"   
  
" For what?"  
  
" The staking of a killer…"  
  
" Fine." When she laid down the phone, Piper thought about what was going to happen Monday night. She was going to kill yet another vampire. Damon had a little more than a day and a half to live. She pondered as to what she would do if she'd known that she had only a day and a half to live. Eventually, the thoughts drifted away…  
  
She decided to take a nice cold shower, straighten her unruly curls, and go and see Meredith. Piper through on o pair of tight, low-riding capris and a white tank that showed almost an inch of her tanned stomach. She added the slightest touch of lip gloss and stuck her dagger in her purse.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
As Piper neared Meredith's house, she noted that a white Camero convertible was flying down the road, out of her driveway. ' Okay…' she thought.  
  
" Ding Dong " the doorbell rang and she heard Meredith holler " Come on in, just watch out for the junk everywhere." She opened the door only to see Stefan coming to open it for her. A surprise breath escaped both of their lips as their eyes met. As soon as their eyes made contact, Piper looked away like a lost little girl. She didn't know what else to do, but go to Meredith's room, looking out for tables and what not in the den. The stairs came as a life saver at that moment. When she made it to the fifth step, she heard Stefan's voice echo in her mind, ' Are you okay?' Piper was angered by the question and projected her own thoughts, ' How would you feel if you're he big bad hunter and some vampire sticks his teeth in your neck?'   
  
Stefan watched her disappear into Meredith's room. Hatefully insulted, that's how she felt, he concluded.   
  
" Oh, Hey Piper- what are you doing here?" Meredith asked as she was moving her bed.   
  
" Hi, I just decided to come and see you, after all we are bff's? " she almost timidly asked. Meredith looked at Piper, " You okay? Cuz, you don't seem like yourself today…" Meredith sat on her newly moved bed and motioned for Piper to sit beside her. The girl followed suit and the friends shared a much needed hug. Apparently, Piper didn't want to talk about what was bothering her, and Meredith understood that. " Thank you.." Piper sobbed on her best friend's shoulder. All Meredith could do was rub her soft hand over the girl's shaking back.  
  
Suddenly, both girls jumped when the door came open. Stefan quickly apologized as Piper was trying to stifle her sobs. He noted the young woman crying and gestured his hand towards Meredith as if to say " What's wrong with her?" Meredith only shrugged her shoulders. Stefan left the room. "What's he doing here?" Piper asked through tears that were finally beginning to subside. " Oh, Stefan? He's just helping me move furniture around, that's all. ", she continued, " hey, I think you need to go home and lie down, you feel warm…"   
  
Piper got up off the bed, hugged her friend once more, and preceded out the door, giving Stefan a faint smile as she exited the house.   
  
Stefan knew what was wrong with Piper. Though he felt as if he needed to comfort her, he didn't know if she'd let him even get near her. Still, he felt the need to try, and so followed her home.   
  
Ch. 8  
  
Piper turned her car off when she pulled into her garage. She didn't immediately get out of it though, instead, she sat behind the wheel just thinking about how screwed up her life was. She shook her head.   
  
As soon as she unlocked her door, she preceded to strip down to her under tank and panties. She rubbed her head and plopped down on the couch, wanting sleep to come and take her away-away to a place where there was no evil, no fear, no responsibility…. It seemed no more than a second that she was beginning to drift away when the retched noise of her doorbell tore her back into reality. " I'll be right there" she yelled and frantically began to search for a pair of shorts to cover her.   
  
When she was dressed, she went to the door. Fluffing her hair once, she opened the door.   
"Stefan.." Piper breathed and motioned for him to come in. He made one step inside and closed the door behind him. "I'm sorry for what Damon did. It was completely unacceptable… I'm sorry.. I'm-" Piper silenced him by placing her finger over his lips. ' So soft…' her mind told her. Their eyes locked in a daze. Stefan kissed her finger and snaked an arm around her waist. She brought her free hand up to his face and felt his features. Their lips met as Piper felt all control leave her body. Stefan traced her lips with his tongue, seeking entrance. 'Entrance granted..' Piper smiled into his kiss, opening her mouth wider. His tongue caressed her own as she felt him gently push them towards the couch. Stefan's mind was screaming at him and he pulled away as soon as she was lying on the couch. Piper's eyes widened and questioned his move.   
  
" Ya know, we're not as horrible as you think we are." Stefan whispered. Piper sat up and could only look down at her lap. "Really, we aren't." Stefan again stated and began moving hair off of her neck. ' May I?' he asked her mind. She looked at him crossly.   
  
" But, I thought that you only…" she said as she felt arm lips caressing the side of her neck. She couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips. Stefan's hands began to grope her body, lingering over her stomach. He felt his fangs fully extend and barely scrape across her throat. He also began to feel her heart rate increase and contemplated stopping right there and then, but his body could not. "Don't stop…" he heard her whisper as if reading his mind.   
  
Piper felt his fangs gently pierce her delicate skin and at first she tensed, but then began to relax. Waves of pleasure overtook her body. It was like she was an abyss, a fantasy type abyss. Images of Damon flashed through her mind which only increased the pleasure factor. Stefan felt sweet, warm blood fill him. He pulled back quickly, careful not to harm her.  
  
She reached over and seized is lips once more, feeling him toy with the tail of her tank. It was the beginning of a passion-filled night and both knew that there was no turning back now.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Piper awoke the next morning in her bed and reflected upon the previous nights events. A smile played acorss her lips and then she looked over for Stefan, but he wasn't there. ' Where is he?' she thought. She called his name and even began searching for him, but it came to no avail. Stefan was missing.   
  
  
Ch. 9  
  
Piper had been hurt by the fact that not only when she woke up that Stefan was not there, but that also he had not even attempted to communicate with her.  
  
" Men.." She sighed and brushed her hair. That's when id dawned on her. She had had sex with a vampire. Piper burst out laughing and giggling like a little teenager in love, bouncing around the room. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she barely heard her doorbell ring.   
  
" Please be Stefan.." she prayed softly and ran a brush through her hair once again. She literally ran down the   
stairs. She giggled as she opened the door. Piper's giggles ceased when she recognized the person whom was standing at her doorstep.   
  
" Hello Josh." she greeted him and tucked a stray piece of hair away behind her ear.  
  
" Let's get down to business, shall we?" he asked and walked in her house, taking a seat. Piper closed the door behind him and came to sit across from him.   
  
" My team will be here at 8. Then, we will strike. Damon is supposed, or he will be at a private club tonight. It has been arranged. " Piper was about to ask lots of questions when Josh noticed this. He ran a hand through his dark hair and got up to walk to the door. " G'bye for now, Piper.." he turned to look at her and then preceded out he door.   
  
She sighed heavily, realizing that her job once again. She checked her watch- 4 PM. ' Gee, thanks for the wake up alarm Josh.'   
  
Piper decided to take a much needed shower. She welcomed the ice cold water that ran down her sides. She dressed herself in tight leather pants and a white halter. She laced the sheath around her waist and placed her dagger in it. She'd straightened her unruly curls into a midnight-dark waterfall that cascaded down and over her shoulders. Then, she applied her makeup. Her eyes were smoky and dark whereas he lip gloss was very light and so contrasted sharply. Piper knew that she looked delicious and dangerous all at the same time. She'd planned it that way for she wanted Damon to desire her before she killed him. Piper heard the car honking and knew it was time.   
  
" So, what's up?" she asked Josh. " Nothing, but the fact that within 30 min. the world will have one less vampire to worry about!" he said and was being cheered by his team, which consisted of five people.   
  
" Oh, this is the team- that's Keenan in the back. " he introduced a friend. Keenan had black hair and a light completion, not to mention the eyes of a jaguar.   
  
"That's Mickey in the middle." he continued. She had flaming red hair and very blue eyes. 'Humorous as well' Piper concluded for she was wearing a tee shirt that said " Bite Me".   
  
" And that's Dan-he and Mickey are twins. "   
  
" Let's go hunting!" Dan announced and was answered by hoots and hollers from everyone. ' 6 hunters to fight Damon..hmm…' Piper thought to herself.   
  
About 10 min. later, the hunters arrived at " Domine", a private club.   
  
As soon as they walked in, attention was immediately given to them. Most of the company was vampires, some rouge witches as well. The six of them walked together into the back of the club. Piper saw a table that included at least a dozen vampires, including Damon. ' God, that's two vamps per hunter. How are we gonna survive this?' Piper caught Damon's eye and held his gaze. There weren't any words shared before the fighting began.   
  
Blood was already being shed before Piper realized what was going on. Mickey and Keenan had already been literally cut in half. A few vampires were already dead as well. One had gotten Piper cornered and she had no choice but to engage in fighting as well. She threw a violent punch to his jaw and kicked him swiftly in the gut, watching him topple over. He'd gotten knocked out and Piper intended on finishing him off, but was tripped by another vampire. She was lying on the floor. Piper heard the sickening sound of bones being cracked and broken beside and around her. That's when she felt someone pick her up. " Damon.." she said aloud. The fighter elbowed him in the lower ribs and he knocked her into the wall. They were now in a different room all alone. Except for a broken window. Their fight continued until she saw Josh standing atop the window trying to get a clear shot at Damon.   
  
" I heard about what happened between you and my brother.. How sickening.." Damon said as he pinned her to the floor. "I was thinking of you the entire time…" she stated before she flipped herself out of his grasp. Now, she was on top.   
  
" Mmm.. I like this position, Maybe we should try it.." Damon retorted as he placed his hands on her hips. He twisted her body to where he was on top again and dominating. He seductively ground his hips into hers. " Ooo… baby don't stop!" she cried sarcastically. Josh was getting ever so close to throwing his dagger . Piper thought she heard Damon say something to the effect of " You know you want this" when she finally saw Josh let go and throw his dagger.   
  
Not thinking for merely a second, Piper violently pulled Damon's head down and kissed him hard. The stake stuck in the wall inches above their heads. She saw Josh get his head decapitated. When Damon realized what she'd done, it could only whisper " You saved me.."  
  
" It's called paying back old debts." she smiled and kissed him again, hearing the fighting nearly come to an end.   
Ch.10~~ Final Chapter   
  
Piper awoke in what seemed to be Damon's bedroom. Red satin sheets engulfed her body and black silk pillows were at her head. It was dawn, for streams of light were pouring through the window's heavy curtains. She rubbbed her eyes and barely saw a figure across the room.   
  
" Stefan?" she choked out, clearing her throat.   
  
" No, ..Not Stefan.." the voice answered.   
  
" Damon?" Piper asked it again.   
  
" No, not Damon either.."  
  
" Well, then who-who are you?" Piper thought she could barely make out strands of blond hair framing a wild face.   
  
" I'm Elena, and We need to talk. You see, Stefan is mine, he always has been. And apparently, you thought you could take him away from me because I heard all about that night you two shared. He felt so guilty, he sought me out and told me right there and then.." Elena said dangerously as if still holding back something. Then, her pitch and volume increased, " You fucking little whore! Stefan's mine! Mine!"   
  
Elena moved toward the bed, "You silly mortal, what do you think you have that he'd want?" The blond asked the shaking girl. In her mind, Piper was trying to forget and deny everything that had happened within the last few days.   
  
" Well, it doesn't really matter anymore cuz all that's gonna end now!" Elena yelled and swiftly, almost to inhumanly, moved to the girl's side and raised her hands above her head. " G'Bye dear.." she bid Piper goodbye and sank a dagger in the young woman's heart. " My..dagger." Piper chocked out as life itself was draining out of her. Her scream pieced through the hallways.   
  
Piper felt her conscious mind begin to fade out, her breathing come to a slow end. Images of her as a little girl innocently playing with friends, images of her as a teenager in a fighting stance simply practicing, and finally two images of certain vampires she'd always remember, even in the afterlife. Once again, the cycle of nature was complete. The hunter had became the hunted.   
  
-The end  
  
Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Now, if you would be so kind as to review it, that would be very nice. For those of you have already reviewed it once and can't again, please drop me an e-mail at TygerTyger08@aol.com. Thank you once again, for I had lots of fun writing this piece.   



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